'Scouse Jonno' dealer shouts 'tell me bird I love her' as he's jailed

A dealer who was part of the "Scouse Jonno" drugs line shouted "tell my bird I love her" as he was locked up. Dean Hughes was part of the county lines operation which saw class A drugs trafficked from Merseyside into the Cheshire area.

Hughes, Owen Smith and Liam Maloney also recruited a teenage boy to peddle illicit substances on their behalf. As he was jailed on Tuesday, September 3, Hughes, 42, wanted to make sure his message got to his partner as he was jailed for 10 years.

A trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard that the Scouse Jonno line "hid behind the jet washing business" L&D Super Valets, with conspirators going to the extent of having flyers printed and emblazoning its logo onto the side of a van in order to create the façade of a legitimate company. But this was used as "cover" as Hughes and Smith utilised a "graft phone" to send out a string of bulk "flare messages" advertising drugs for sale between January 10 and February 21 this year.

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Holly Menary, prosecuting, described how they then instructed Maloney to deliver heroin and crack cocaine to users in Cheshire, travelling on the region's motorways in the van, and "exploited" a 16-year-old boy in care to supply their customers and deliver ill-gotten cash to Hughes' home. The 42-year-old, of Branstree Avenue in Norris Green, has a total of 33 previous convictions for 99 offences - including for being concerned in the supply of heroin in 2005 and receiving 42 months in 2013 for supplying heroin and cocaine.

Desmond Lennon, defending Hughes, told the court on Tuesday, that his client had "no other relevant or recent drug convictions", adding: "He has a wife and three daughters, and they will inevitably miss the companionship of the defendant. The defendant's mother is in very poor health.

"She also will inevitably feel the impact of her son's detention while he is serving this sentence of imprisonment. He has not served anything like this sentence of imprisonment previously, and it will impact upon him even greater than sentences in the past."

Maloney - of Oakdale Avenue in Seacombe, Wirral - has one previous conviction for three offences, including making threats with a bladed article. The 32-year-old's counsel Anthony O'Donohoe said: "He tells me he has completed a welding course while in custody.

"His father has work along the same lines, and he is hopeful of finding employment. He is not work shy and wants to be gainfully employed. He intends to use his time as productively as he can. He has no significant convictions and no drugs matters recorded against him."

Smith, of Mainside Road in Kirkby, meanwhile has a criminal record showing 33 entries for 100 prior offences. The 45-year-old was handed sentences of two and three years in 1998 and 2005 respectively for supplying class A drugs, then was locked up for seven years in 2016 for being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

Ian Jobling, appearing on his behalf, added: "Perhaps the saddest part of these matters is that he had clearly rehabilitated himself after his last drugs sentence. His jet washing business, Crystal Wash, was quite clearly a properly founded business, with him doing his utmost to make it a success.

"It is clear that he worked hard in trying to support himself and his family. His wife was sectioned towards the end of last year. Of course, she is going to miss him significantly during his period of incarceration."

All three defendants were convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine and arranging or facilitating travel with a view to exploitation by a jury. Hughes was jailed for 10 years, Smith was handed eight-and-a-half years and Maloney received four-and-a-half years.

Sentencing, Judge Judith Bond said: "Drugs are a scourge on society. Those who use drugs engage in crime to fund their habits. This exposes them and their families to violence and organised crime."

The judge told Hughes: "You are a family man. As if often the case, it is your family who will suffer - in particular your mother, who is in very poor health."

To Smith, Judge Bond said: "I am sure that it is not lost on you that you had started to turn your life away from criminality. I accept that you worked hard day after day in all weathers, but ultimately you made the decision to turn back to criminal activity."

Judge Bond meanwhile told Maloney: "You were told what to do and where to go. I accept that you thought that you were a partner in the business, but the reality was very different. You did what you were told.

"I bear in mind your learning difficulties. You are a relatively young man with no previous convictions for drugs. You say that you intend to use your time in prison to gain skills which, on release, is hoped will lead to a job and not further criminality."

Maloney and Hughes both replied "thank you" after learning their sentences. The latter then told a man in the public gallery as he was led down to the cells: "Chin up lad. Tell my bird I love her."